Sacrifices
by Kelly93
Summary: This is an alternative ending to book seven. I guess it's darker and more dramatic than the original ending but I hope you'll like it anyway. I'm not going to give away anymore so just read it and review please.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first fan fiction and I hope you'll like it

Oh and of course I don't own anything referring to Harry Potter

This story starts at the beginning of "The Prince's Tale" right after Voldemort commands his forces to retreat and announces that the battle will continue in hour unless Harry faces him in the Forbidden Forest. But Snape hasn't died in my story so Harry never got the chance to see all of his memories and so he still doesn't know that he is the last Horcrux...

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_Come on now… Think! _Harry told himself. _There must be a solution. Nagini is a Horcrux for sure but what is the last one?? Focus…We've destroyed Hufflepuff's Cup, Ravenclaw's Diadem and Slytherin's Lock…It can't be something that belonged to Gryffindor, because the only valuable possession of Gryffindor was his sword, which is we know for sure is no Horcrux…So we've got four Horcruxes together… then there was the ring that Dumbledore had destroyed and of course the diary… Cup, Diadem, Lock, Nagini, Ring, Diary…Diary… _Harry's thoughts trailed off into an different direction. _Chamber of Secrets… Tom Riddle…Dumbledore…_

_Wait… Dumbledore…There had been something…_ And then suddenly he remembered the talk he had with the former headmaster almost 6 years ago.

"_You can speak Parseltongue, Harry, because Lord Voldemort – who is the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin – can speak Parseltongue. Unless I'm much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I'm sure…" _

That day he hadn't understood the meaning of these words. Now he did.

"Harry?" Caught of guard Harry looked up directly into Ginny's warm, brown eyes, his heart pounding in his chest. "Are you okay?", she asked worried taking a seat next to him in the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Yeah I'm fine.. just didn't hear you enter the room…

"Well, you looked like you were somewhere far away", Ginny said smiling weakly.

Harry noticed that she didn't look very healthy. Her long red hair that Harry loved so much looked pretty messy and she had dark shadows under her puffy, red eyes.

_She has probably cried for hours _Harry thought worried. He wanted to lock his arms around her, to comfort her and to tell her that everything was gonna be okay so badly, but he knew that it wasn't.

"Yeah.. I was just trying to find the answer…", Harry said turning away from her because he could no longer bear looking at her sad face. Instead he stared into the empty fireplace, where he had so often warmed himself after a cold day on the grounds. It had half collapsed during the battle of Hogwarts and now looked rather shabby.

"The answer to what?", Ginny asked desperately. "And now don't tell me that it is too dangerous for me to know, I don't think it makes any difference any more."

Harry sighed, still not looking at her. "Yeah I guess you're right", he finally said and started telling her all about Voldemort and his Horcruxes.

"And so here I am wondering what the last Horcrux could be", he finished his story. "Oh and of course I still need to figure out how to get rid of Nagini.."

He didn't tell her that by now he was quite positive of knowing what the last Horcrux was.

" Okay that's a tough one… well.. you said that Dumbledore told you that Voldemort _intended_ to tear his soul into 7 pieces.. what if he never finished his work because he vanished? Maybe there is only Nagini left..", Ginny suggested.

"Yeah..", Harry lied finally looking at her. " Yes you're probably right.."

He hated to lie to Ginny but he couldn't stand telling her the truth either.

"Harry, you can't fool me", she said obviously hurt. " If you don't want to tell me the truth – Fine! But you know, you don't have to lie to me.."

She stood up and turned away from him heading to the girls dormitory .

"Ginny! It's just… I – I can't"

" Why Not?! Do you think I can't bear the truth? Harry, my brother was murdered! He is dead and I'll never have the chance to see him again. I think whatever it is I can live with it. But I can't live with the fact that you seem to think that I'm to weak to know it, because I'm not! "

Harry looked at Ginny stunned. "I – I'm sorry…", he stumbled.

" Oh forget about it..", Ginny whispered her eyes filled with tears and she hurried into the girls dormitory and slammed the door shut.

"Fuck!", Harry shouted angrily, shoving a roll of parchment, a quill and a bottle of ink from a table. The ink bottle crashed on the floor and burst into a thousand pieces leaving its surroundings covered in black ink. " There I am trying to protect her and all I do is hurt her!"

_Okay now calm down…_Harry thought and dropped back into his favorite armchair. _I still have to figure out what I'm doing about the last two remaining Horcruxes…Nagini…Maybe with Gryffindor's sword? I killed the Basilisk with it… Chamber of Secrets… Ginny… no FOCUS… where is that damn sword now…Ginny probably hates me now…No she doesn't you fool… you just hurt her…_

_I can't concentrate like this…but I can't tell her, I just can't…_

"That's it", Harry shouted out. He was slightly surprised of hearing his voice as he hadn't intended to say that out loud. "I'll write her a letter… and I guess I'll have to write a will to", he added almost amused by his idea. But when he thought about it, he decided that it was necessary and he turned serious again.

He picked up the roll of parchment and the quill and placed it on one of the tables. Then he took out his wand, pointed it at the shattered ink bottle, murmured _Reparo _and put the now repaired ink bottle next to the quill.

The he sat down on a chair, dipped the quill into the ink and started scribbling his first letter - his will. Then he started writing a letter for Ginny which was way harder than he would have thought.

When he was finally finished he stuffed the letter and his will into one of his pockets and went down into the great hall. At last he had a plan.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This chapter turned out very different than I had actually planned and I guess it's a bit short but hopefully you'll like it anyway... :) thanks for the reviews and I'll hope to see more soon ;)

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Only after entering the Great Hall Harry remembered that he'd only had one hour to meet Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest.

_I wonder how much time has passed... It must have been at least half an hour! _Harry thought, suddenly worried that there wasn't enough time left.

Then he concentrated on his surroundings and noticed that Madam Pomfrey and some teachers were gathered in one corner and were treating the wounded.

There was a small crowd in the middle of the Hall and Harry spotted Hermione and Ron. He hurried over and saw that silent tears were running down their cheeks. It was only then that he noticed that there were several bodies lying on the floor, in the center of the crowd.

The complete Weasley family except for Ginny was present, every single one of them staring to one particular body. Harry knew at once who it was without having to take a look and sure enough he found Fred resting on the hard stone floor, his eyes were shut and his expression was peaceful. Harry even thought the corners of his mouth were pulled up a bit into a grin, now frozen on his dead face. Tears filled his eyes as the truth of Fred's death washed over him. But this was neither the time nor the place to mourn. He turned away deliberately not looking at the other corpses and glanced at George, who looked up to Harry. His eyes were full of desperation and sadness and they seemed to say: _You have to end this Harry.. Before anyone else dies.. _

Harry quickly averted George's gaze for he couldn't hold back the tears any longer unless he stopped looking at him.

_Okay.. What am I going to do now… I should find out how much time I've got left to work on the details of my plan. But who knows? Probably one of the teachers…_And with these thoughts he paced over to the provisional hospital.

"How much time is there left?", he asked Professor Flitwick who had just finished healing a broken leg.

"Harry", he squealed excited. " I'm glad to see that you're unharmed… Wait let me check my watch." The tiny wizard rummaged in his pocket and finally pulled out a complicated looking watch. "I'm sorry to say that we've only got 10 minutes left… I really hope we manage to treat all the injured by then.."

"Thanks Professor Flitwick.. And don't worry, I'll give my best to finish this off soon… I don't want to be responsible for more deaths!"

"But Harry! You're not responsible for any death and no one will blame you for that. Every single person who decided not to leave tonight was aware of the danger they'd put themselves into but they stayed anyway to fight for a better world. I know you wish we would all hide somewhere safe but it's impossible for you to win this battle alone. That's the way it is but it's definitely not your fault. But of course it would be good if you defeat You-Know-Who as soon as possible..", He said smiling encouragingly. With these words he returned to his work and Harry was left there thinking about how to proceed.

_Ten minutes! I knew that I took long to write the letters but that I've got only ten minutes left…Okay so I have to find Hermione and Ron…_

The crowd around the dead had dissolved as they were taken to another room. Meanwhile most of the people were preparing for the battle.

Harry found his friends sitting on the lowest step of the marble staircase, staring to the floor absentminded. He sat down next to them and as neither of them looked up he tentatively said: " Hey.. I know this isn't the best time but I need you to do something for me.."

Hermione looked up at Harry weakly and whispered: " Whatever it is we'll do it… I'd do anything to stop… V- Voldemort from.." Her voice broke.

"So what do you want us to do?", Ron croaked. So Harry quickly filled them in on his plan.

"So the major problem for now is that we need something to destroy the two remaining Horcruxes", Harry finished off.

"Oh Harry..", Hermione sobbed desperately. "I'm not sure about this… I don't think that I can do this.."

"But you have to!", Harry said fiercely. "It's the only way… And there's no sense in worrying about that as we don't even have something to destroy Nagini and -" Harry was interrupted by a loud creak as the Entrance door opened and everybody went stiff when Voldemort and his Deatheaters entered the Great Hall.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So I finally managed to complete chapter 3. I'm sorry it took me so long but I really had a lot to do for school etc.

I hope you like and I'd be very happy to get many reviews.. at least more than for chapter 2 ;D

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Harry stood up instantly as the Deatheaters under Voldemorts lead filed into the great hall. Ron and Hermione were still sitting on the stairs looking horrified. The teachers had arranged themselves around the hospital, guarding the wounded ones.

Harry stood there, not able to decide on what to do

_Everything is lost now…Where is Nagini? _He thought desperately. _Without Nagini dead, I can never end this…_

He suddenly heard the sound of something sliding across the smooth stone floor and he caught sight of the Snake – the Horcrux – he needed to destroy . It stopped next to Voldemort.

_Okay… I've got no idea how but I can save the lives of my friends by killing this damn snake so I'll do it. Voldemort probably doesn't think that I am capable of doing that or he wouldn't bring Nagini here unprotected but that doesn't matter now…_

A cold voice reminded Harry where he was and interrupted his thoughts. All eyes were fixed on the tall, pale wizard in the middle of the Great Hall

"So what do we have here. The _famous_ Harry Potter? The _Chosen One_? Well if he really is I'm sorry to say that your hero isn't ready to sacrifice his life for every present person here, like the ones who died fighting us. He's worth nothing and before you die, you shall remember how he betrayed you all!", Voldemort sneered.

"That's not true!", Harry cried moving toward Voldemort. When he was so near that only Voldemort could understand his words he added: "Are you aware of the fact that there are only two Horcruxes left and I know what they are, Tom?"

He wasn't afraid at all even though he knew the chances of his plan working out were very little.

Fear and anger flashed through Voldemorts red eyes, but were replaced by a nasty grin only seconds later.

"Then you'll probably know that they are impossible to destroy – especially for you!", he breathed and added loudly: "So let's end this! The time has come for you to say goodbye to your precious Harry Potter."

The Deatheaters immediately moved toward him, their masks hiding their faces.

" Oh so now the great, powerful Lord Voldemort is not brave enough to take on a seventeen-year-old boy by himself? Does he need his Deatheaters for that?", Harry shouted fearless, hoping to stretch out the time he still had to find a way of destroying the Horcruxes. He was sure that Voldemort wouldn't kill him immediately, he'd surely try to humiliate Harry in front of everybody here first.

"I challenge you to duel with me"

Voldemort laughed a cold, piercing laugh. "Okay then, let us duel! _Nagini, stay close!_", he added in Parseltongue and the snake slithered closer.

"I don't want anyone of you to interrupt us, keep out of it!", Harry said fiercely, giving Hermione and Ron a meaningful look.

"So then, can we start now or have you changed your mind?", Voldemort demanded.

"Yeah I'm ready…", Harry said and both of the wizards drawed their wands without breaking the eye contact. They nodded to each other barely visible and even the Deatheaters held their breath as they raised their wands.

And then Voldemort cast his first spell "Sectusempra!" and a large snake appeared between him and Harry.

_So I was right! He doesn't want to kill me immediately.. He wants to play or he wouldn't start like this. And after all, I know that Voldemort is capable of casting nonverbal spells, which is more sufficient and Voldemort will use them for sure later on. But now I should get rid of the snake…_

The snake was sliding across the floor toward Harry.

"_Stop! Don't come any closer_", Harry hissed, only recognizable for the snake, Voldemort and himself as no one else could speak or understand Parseltongue.

The snake backed away, not sure what to do and Harry cast a nonverbal spell, which made her disappear.

Before Harry could even think about what to do next, a red flash of light hit him and pain shook through him making him fall to his ground and screaming out loud.

After what felt like an eternity the pain faded and vanished as suddenly as it had started.

Harry picked up his wand which had fallen to the floor without him noticing and stood up.

He had to react faster. Without waiting for Voldemort to act he raised his wand and screamed "Expelliarmus". But Voldemort had been faster again. He had cast a shielding charm and Harry's spell just dissolved a few feet away from Voldemort.

"Enough of this.. game. It's getting boring isn't it?", Voldemort sneered and the Deatheaters laughed in agreement.

"Your going to die now Harry, just like you parents." He raised his wand.

_No!! I guess I was wrong! He can't wait to kill me after he failed so many times before! This fight is lost, I won't be lucky again..._

"NO" Neville leaped forward and threw himself in front of Harry.

" You really think that will change anything at all? ", Voldemort said amused. "All right, then I'll kill you first"

" Master! I don't want to interrupt but may I?"

" Of course Bellatrix!", Voldemort laughed viciously. " Why don't you refresh our memories of what happened to the Longbottoms?"

Neville turned white. Harry raised his wand but Bellatrix had already stepped up to them and cursed Neville with the Cruciatus Curse. He was lying on the floor shaking and screaming with pain just as Harry had minutes ago.

Harry wanted to curse Bellatrix but then he caught Voldemort's gaze and he knew that if he did so, Voldemort was going to kill Neville immediately.

When finally the spell was broken, Neville didn't stand up, he didn't move at all. He looked horrified and his eyes were filled with tears. But before he even had the chance to recover Bellatrix repeated the curse and he was shaking and screaming again.

_Oh my GOD!! There must be something I can do!! But I can't! Voldemort would kill him for sure…_

Again the screams silenced but Neville didn't even cry anymore, he just lay there on the floor staring to the ceiling, his gaze empty.

A loud creak interrupted the silence. The entrance door opened and a black shadow entered the hall. It turned out to be a big shaggy black dog. There were some astonished gasps and muffled screams.

_No! _Harry thought._ That can't be true…It's impossible! Sirius is dead! I saw him die! No.. I saw him fall through that veil... whatever.. _Harry pushed his thoughts away, it didn't matter now. He returned his attention to Sirius who had just transformed into a tall skinny man with long black hair. He clutched his wand in his right hand and something indefiable in his left one but no one noticed except for Harry.

Everybody was staring at Sirius but his gaze was fixed on Bellatrix. There was pure hatred in his eyes.

"Sirius, you came back?" Bellatrix laughed insanely. " How can that be now? I thought I killed you!"

" Well you thought wrong then. But you can be sure of one thing. I'm going to kill you now!" and with these words Sirius raised his wand and a flash of green light hit Bellatrix on the chest. The insane grin still carved on her face, she fell to the ground, dead.

"You dare to kill my Deatheaters? You filthy bastard! ", Voldemort raged without noticing that Ron and Hermione were dragging Neville to the provisional hospital. Then turning to the crowd he said: " Take a final look at Black and Potter who are going to end the same way as the rest of the Potters did. Killed by the greatest wizard of all times!"

"Sorry to interrupt your nice speech Voldemort, but I'm sorry to say that you're really not the greatest Wizard of all times", Sirius said grinning devilishly.

"So who do you think is the greatest wizard, Black?", Voldemort spat back at him angrily. "Dumbledore? He is dead. He was weak!"

"Albus was NOT weak he was the greatest wizard ever and will always be. But if you prefer a living one why don't we just take Harry here", Sirius answered simply.

"I am about to kill the boy, he is as good as dead"

"Well to me he seems quite alive though. And apparently this is about the seventh time that you tried to kill him and it never worked out, right? So how can you be the greatest wizard but not be able to kill a little baby or by now a seventeen-year old boy?"

With these words Sirius crossed the hall, gave Harry the item he had been holding and then took his place right next to him.

Harry recognized the Sorting Hat in his hands and immediately understood.

_I've got no idea why Sirius is still alive and where he's got the Sorting Hat from but I'll bet that I can pull out Gryffindor's Sword._

And so he put his hand into the old hat and instantly felt his fingers closing in on something cold, that could only be the handle of the sword.

_Okay, so now I have a possibility to destroy that damn Horcrux-snake and of course the other one too._

"So we can continue our duel, as you found yourself a nice little weapon, right?", Voldemort said restrained. " I guess as you got yourself a partner it is only fair if I get one too. Severus! Come here and help your master."

Severus Snape, who had been leaning against the wall in a corner of the hall placed himself next to Voldemort. "As you wish my lord"

"So that's the side you chose Snivellus?", Sirius sneered. "I always knew you'd end up being a servant or isn't it actually more like a slave for Voldemort. Dumbledore trusted you, I didn't. But I trusted him. I guess he was wrong about you! We all were."

"Yes, you probably were…", Snape answered simply.

"Severus I want you to kill the dog, now", Voldemort demanded. "Prove your loyalty to you master!"

"But maybe..", Sirius continued as though Voldemort had said nothing. " Maybe you could also prove to me, to us that you're not that Idiot everyone thinks you are. That your loyalty was always with Dumbledore and still is. If that's the case I think you know what to do"

Sirius took the sword from Harry and offered it to Severus.

"What the hell are you doing Sirius?!", Harry demanded aghast. "You are aware that he could also take the sword and kill you with it, leaving us without you and without the weapon that we need!"

"Yes I am totally aware of that", Sirius answered not looking at Harry but staring at Snape who returned his gaze.

"Severus..", Voldemort hissed. "You're marked as one of my supporters! You've got the Dark Mark! Kill the dog NOW! I don't care if you use that damn sword or your wand or whatever but do it! _Nagini stay here next to me! Don't move_"

Snape's face was blank, unreadable. He took a few steps toward Sirius until he was standing right in front of him. Then he took the offered sword into his hand and grimaced.

"This is not supposed to be. This sword was only made for Gryffindors, I can feel it.", He murmured more to himself than to anybody else. " Whatever.. that doesn't matter know…"

He gripped the hilt tighter and looked from Sirius to Voldemort to Nagini and finally to Harry. His eyes expressed pure hatred as always when he looked at him. Harry stared back at him and suddenly he was sure what Severus' decision was going to be.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Here's chapter 4.. I hope you'll like it and I'd love to get some reviews... and I'll try to update faster next time.. sorry :)

10thWeasley: thanks for that review.. It sort of motivated me to finish writing chapter 4 ;)

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Severus Snape grip on the sword tightened. He glanced at Voldemort and grinned grimly. Voldemort, not sure whether this was a good sign or not, stood there nervously. There was nothing he could do and that concerned him.

Then finally Snape turned to Harry and raised the sword, Voldemort laughing triumphantly.

"Potter. We've all suffered big losses, but believe me, I suffered most."

"Why? Because you murdered Dumbledore?", Harry asked aggressively.

"No, because he asked me to do it and it was the worst thing that I have ever done", Snape answered calmly.

Every single person in the Great Hall held their breath as these words began to sink in.

Not saying more, Snape turned around and walked up to Voldemort, who was speechless.

"My Lord, I am a Deatheater, I have the Dark Mark you're right. I'll have it for the rest of my life. But I also have something else. I've got my memory. My memory of Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of all times and I'm sure he'd be very proud of my next move!"

And with these words he raised the sword and slammed it down onto Nagini's head, which rolled across the floor.

"You – you killed Nagini! ARE YOU AWARE OF THE DAMAGE YOU HAVE DONE? You'll pay for that Severus Snape!", Voldemort spat.

" Yes I am very aware of that", Severus responded grimly, knowing what would happen next and he was right.

Voldemort raised his wand and screamed _Avada Kedavra. _A green flash of light hit Severus Snape on the chest and he fell to the floor, an expression of deep happiness on his face. Finally everyone knew that he wasn't the bad guy at all. Finally everyone knew that he was a supporter of Albus Dumbledore and always had been.

Several people started whispering to each other, but suddenly Voldemort let out a piercing scream and every single person in the hall was quiet again.

Voldemort turned to Harry and Sirius and opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again, not knowing what to say.

Harry was also speechless. Snape had been good after all. And now he was dead. He looked at Sirius who stared at Snape, the man he had loathed since his time at Hogwarts. He looked rather confused but to Harry's surprise there was also sadness and regret in his eyes.

Then Voldemort managed to say something: "He was worthless anyway. I knew he was a traitor."

" He was not worthless!" , Sirius said calmly. " Not to us anyway. He destroyed Nagini, he destroyed a Horcrux."

"And still, there is one left. Personally, my favorite.", Voldemort responded suddenly smirking. "I always wondered how you would continue in this situation. Of course I never expected things to turn out this way but that doesn't matter anymore.

So, what will it be, _chosen one_? Will you try and kill me first or will you rather commit suicide and destroy the last Horcrux?"

_Good question, _Harry thought. _Now what!? _

Suddenly there was a screeching noise and Fawkes the Phoenix came flying into the Great Hall and landed on Harry's shoulder.

Suddenly Harry had an idea. It was risky, very risky indeed, but what choice did he have?

He turned to Sirius who was watching him closely, knowing and fearing what Harry was about to do.

"Sirius…", Harry muttered under his breath, so that only Sirius could hear him. "This is the last thing that I want to do right now, especially as you returned, but I have to. Promise me that you will do whatever I ask for. Promise me that you'll help me, with.. with what I have to do."

"I promise…", Sirius whispered sadly. "Then let's do this.." They straightened up and clutched their wands more tightly.

Voldemort was looking at them curiously.

And then it happened all very suddenly. One moment everyone was silent, waiting for somebody to say or do something and the next one Harry had raised the sword, pointing it directly at his heart, closed his eyes tightly and struck. Nothing could have prepared him for the pain that was shaking through his body. He felt the blood streaming out of the wound, his heart pumping wildly. There were many screams coming from the crowd but Harry didn't notice. He also was not aware of Ron and Hermione running toward him and dropping to the floor next to him, nor did hear Sirius whispers or Voldemort's triumphant laughter.

No, all Harry could feel was the endless pain in his body, the pain in his mind. He would never see Ron, Hermione, Ginny and all his other friends and loved ones again. Sirius, who had finally returned against all hope. It was all gone now.

_I have to kill Voldemort! _Harry thought suddenly. _Can't leave my friends with him!_

"Sirius!", Harry moaned. "Sirius – wand - now!" He wasn't able to say more.

But sure enough he felt his weak arm tightening around his wand.

"Point – Hand - Voldemort", He croaked and he felt Sirius hand gripping his wand arm and pointing it in one particular direction.

He heard Voldemort's faint voice. He was still laughing at something and he thought he caught the words " Now they try to stick the wand in his hand, as if he's still capable of doing any magic, let alone kill me."

And it were these words that gave him the power, the strength to sit up and hold his arm independently. Voldemort thought he was to weak to kill him, but he was going to show him.

A wave of pure hatred rushed through him.

"_Avada Kedavra!_", He screamed, loathing the red gleaming eyes that were suddenly filled with disbelieve as a jet of green light shot out of Harry's wand and hit him fully in the face.

Lord Voldemort fell to the floor, Harry's voice still echoing around the hall.

The Dark Lord was defeated, dead.

Harry felt weaker than ever, although the pain had already ceased, and was sure he would pass out any moment but warm hands caught him and lay him softly on the floor.

Why was he not dead already, Harry wondered. Where was the unendurable pain that had hit him only seconds before.

"Fawkes", He mouthed suddenly, for he had just noticed that the beautiful red phoenix was sitting next to him and tears were falling from his eyes onto Harry's now fully closed wound. Then he looked around and realized that everyone in the Great Hall was watching him but he only had eyes for his godfather.

"You – you came back!", he whispered weakly. "How?"

"That's a long story. I'll tell you when you've gotten better", Sirius answered smiling and looking relieved.

"Sirius.. I don't think there will be time", Harry said, breathing hard. " I don't think I will survive…"

"But the Phoenix! Its tears heal, right?", a different, much higher voice sobbed. " You won't die!"

Harry looked around and found Ginny's tearful eyes. He wanted to answer her and to explain everything, but his voice failed.

"Yes.. H-he will.. Phoenix tears h-have closed the – the wound b-but they can't r-really heal it nor can they restore the blood he l-lost..", Hermione whispered. Her eyes were closed and there she had pained expression on her face. She seemed to be trying to hold off her tears. And then suddenly it burst out of her, she threw her arms around Ron's shoulders and cried shamelessly. Ron patted her softly on the back, but he himself was white as chalk and he was shaking uncontrollably.

"But there must be a way!", Ginny cried desperately. "You can't leave us now, you can't!"

"I love you Ginny", Harry croaked. " I love you!"

"I love you, too, Harry!", She whispered. Then she leaned forward, kissed him on the forehead and stood up slowly her eyes locked on Harry's. They stared at each other for a few seconds or it could have been years, but when Ginny closed her eyes and turned away, Harry's heart filled with sadness and desperation and he watched her walk away slowly.

He finally managed to rip his eyes off her and looked at Ron and Hermione instead. He felt himself weakening.

"Ron, Hermione… You have been the best friends that I could have wished for.. I love you both and I'll miss you so much.. I'm sorry that it had to end like this but –"

"Yeah ,Go ahead, and blame yourself for this one, too", Ron said. "Because it's so your fault. Come on shut up about being sorry, will you?"

Harry chuckled weakly. "I'll miss you, Ron"

"And I'll miss you, too, obviously, won't I", Ron answered, brushing away the tears that were flowing down his cheeks and he pulled Harry into an one-armed hug.

"Harry.. Oh Harry.. I don't.. I can't… I…", Hermione stumbled after Ron had let go of him. "I'm so proud of you Harry and I'm sorry that I don't know how to heal you or anything and I should have helped you in some way and I should have come up with a better plan and it's all my fault!" Her words had come out in a rush and she as well embraced Harry tightly, tears streaming down her face.

" It's not your fault", Harry answered. "Don't be stupid!"

"We'll always remember you.. our great hero.. our great friend…", Hermione said quietly.

"And I'll remember you, my friends, without who I could have never succeeded… Tell the others that I loved them, okay? And look after Ginny…"

"We will", Ron responded tearily. Then he took Hermione's hand and pulled her onto her feet. They took one last look at him and turned away to leave him alone with Sirius. Harry watched them cross the Hall and close the entrance door behind them. The Great Hall was now empty. The people who had survived had left the hall, probably chased away by Professor McGonagall, to give Harry and his friends some privacy, but Harry hadn't noticed until now.

He sat up and looked at Sirius, the question of how he had returned burning on his mind, but he pushed it aside.

"Sirius… this is.. just so unfair…", Harry croaked tears in his eyes. " You return and I die…"

"I know Harry, I know… But think of what will be waiting for you on the other side…", Sirius whispered. "You'll finally see your parents again.. I mean.. that's even better than having back your godfather, right? Tell James… tell him that I'm sorry for suggesting Wormtail to be secret keeper and that it's all my fault and –" His voice broke.

"And that.. you were… the best godfather.. ever!", Harry said with an effort. He was very weak… There was not much time left until it was all over.. until he finally would see his parents again.. or would he?

"it's.. not… your… fault… Sirius"

"I'm so proud of you, Harry.. I'll always be and I'll never ever forget you!"

"Take.. letters..", Harry mouthed. He pulled the pieces of parchment out of his pocket and thrust them into Sirius arms. " and Sirius… Ted… take care of… Ted… your godson now.."

"I will, Harry, I will..", Sirius answered, tears flowing down his face. "And you don't forget me.. don't forget Padfoot.. don't forget that I loved you like my own son.. not because your James' son, but because you're one of the most amazing people I have ever met…"

He smiled down at Harry sadly, his eyes gleaming with pride and shining with tears.

" I won't.. forget.. you.. Padfoot…" and with these words Harry closed his eyes and fell into Sirius arms. He was dead.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Okay it's like ages ago that I posted chapter 4.. I really wanted to write a fifth chapter but I never quite managed, until now, hope you'll like it anyway. There are actually some similarities with the chapter "King's Cross" in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, so maybe this is a good time to mention once again that I do not own anything referring to Harry Potter ;)

* * *

"Where am I?", Harry wondered confused. "What happened?"

He was lying on the floor of a big bright hall with a high ceiling.

And then he remembered everything, the battle of Hogwarts, Sirius' return, Snape's death… But what had happened then? Was Voldemort defeated? And what was he, Harry, doing here? Where were Ron and Hermione? What had happened?!

Worried, he jumped to his feet and searched the hall for a sign of his friends but it was completely empty. And still Harry had the weird feeling that he wasn't alone.

_Wait.. I remember that I talked to Sirius in the end…_And Harry suddenly remembered. Voldemort was dead, but so was he.

But before Harry could think about the matter further a loud cry broke the silence and pushed his thoughts away.

He turned around looking for the source of the noise and saw something small lying in a corner of the hall. He took a few steps forward until he was near enough to see it properly. It was a weird creature, which was shaking and shivering. It had about the size and shape of a baby but seemed to have no face except for a hole where the noise had probably come from. Harry was unwillingly reminded of the Dementors and stepped back. But in some way he also pitied the creature and wanted to help him but he couldn't bring himself to approach it let alone touch it.

_Don't be such a coward! _He told himself, staring at the strange creature, but he didn't dare to come closer.

"You cannot help."

Harry spun around. Albus Dumbledore was walking toward him, smiling sadly.

"No one can."

"Professor! What..? How? But… you're dead!

"Yes I am.. Come take a walk with me and tell me what has happened."

"Well… There was this battle and I thought about how to kill Nagini when I had an idea. I remembered what you had told me in my second grade after I had left the chamber of secrets and so I figured that I had to be a Horcrux too. Although obviously he didn't mean to make me one as he already had ripped his soul into seven parts, you see? The cup, the diadem, the locket, Nagini, the ring, the diary and the part in Voldemort's body.

And then I knew that there were two Horcruxes left and…"

And Harry told Dumbledore everything up to Voldemort's death. He was listening silently.

"And then I.. I guess I died too, right? Or I wouldn't be here, would I?"

"Yes, I'm sorry to say that you probably did.. Although I can't say it for sure, as you know I have done mistakes before..", Dumbledore said looking at Harry thoughtfully.

"But no, I believe we can be fairly sure that you're no longer a living human being, but if you want to call it dead is a different matter. I mean what is death? We seem to live on somehow or we wouldn't be talking.."

Lost in thought Dumbledore stopped talking, staring absentmindedly at nothing specific.

"Uhm Professor?", Harry asked tentatively.

"Oh sorry, Harry, my mind was wandering off. I'm sure you have some questions so why don't we just have a seat and have something to eat?", Dumbledore suggested smiling.

"But there's nowhere to –"

But Dumbledore had already gestured at two comfortable looking armchairs and had settled into one of them. Harry was pretty confident that they hadn't been there before.

"Oh uh right..", Harry said sitting down as well.

" So what're you in mood for? I think I'll have some apple pie. Ah yes, delicious!", Dumbledore said happily, when an apple pie appeared on a plate before him.

"But, professor, how -"

"Harry, if we really are dead then of course we don't need food or anything but as you might've noticed I'm rather fond of apple pie.. And as this obviously is not a normal and _real _situation it would be a shame if we couldn't have everything the way we wanted, don't you think ?", Dumbledore asked Harry smiling.

"Yeah that's true.. But I'm not really hungry, thanks," Harry said eager to finally get some answers.

"I see, Harry. So if you're sure you don't need any refreshments, how about we turn to more important matters", Dumbledore said and the half-finished apple pie disappeared.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, so just go ahead and ask. I myself am very interested in discussing a few matters with you as well."

"Oh Right.. Well first of all, how.. why.. Sirius?! I mean he died!", Harry said confused. "I don't understand and there was no time for him to explain."

"Yes, I thought this was going to be your first question", Dumbledore told Harry. "To be quite honest, I do not know what has happened there. I myself believed him dead."

Harry looked at Dumbledore disappointed almost reproachful. How could Dumbledore not know?

"But, Professor, surely you must have some theory, right?", he asked hopefully and Dumbledore smiled.

"Harry, I've got about a hundred theories, the problem is to decide which one is most likely. But okay, I am rather sure of one thing. Sirius died in the Department of Mysteries, as you , of course, know. He fell through some sort of veil, I believe?"

"Yes, He fell, well, sort of into it. You see, he should have reappeared on the other side of that archway but he didn't", Harry told him, remembering the day of Sirius's death. He couldn't help but wonder what was behind that veil and was about to ask Dumbledore exactly that, when he spoke again.

"What lies behind that veil, I do not know. No one knows except for the Ministry workers and I seriously doubt that they truly understand it. I think that behind that veil there is some kind of place that has a connection with death, or Sirius could never have returned. Bellatrix hit him with a killing curse so he should have been dead whether falling through that veil or not. From this point on we can only guess what has happened then, but probably the place he was sent to when falling through that veil must somehow be able to reverse or change the condition of a body from dead to alive. However, what exactly happened there, we shall never know. I doubt that even Sirius knows", Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

"Is this sufficient? Because as much as I would like to know more, I don't"

"Yes, professor", Harry said slightly confused, trying to imagine a place where death could be reversed.

"So, what's your next question?"

"What? Oh.. next question, right", Harry said, pushing Sirius and the veil off his mind. "Snape! He said he had killed you because you asked him to! Is that true?"

"Yes I'm afraid it is. Let me explain. After I touched the ring, my hand got damaged, as you know. But it was not only my hand, my whole body was weakened and if it weren't for Severus I would have died the same day. But he was able to brew me a potion which would keep me alive, but the damage could not be healed and it was clear that my life would soon be over. Severus was able to delay my death for about a year but he could not stop it. So when he told me of Draco's task to kill me, we decided that should it ever get that far, Severus would kill me instead, as to protect Draco from doing a terrible thing and to allow Severus to continue spying on Voldemort, although he could of course not pass any information to the order after that. But you will surely agree with me that in the end Voldemort's trust in Severus played a crucial role.

"I'm sorry that I never told you about that plan", Dumbledore added when he saw that Harry was about to protest. "but it was very important that nobody knew that Severus was actually on our side. It was to risky, Voldemort could've found out about that and even if he hadn't believed it, he certainly would have been a lot more careful and a lot less trusting toward Severus. Do you understand?"

"Yes, professor," Harry said, but he was still convinced that Dumbledore should have told him.

"Then there's another thing. Why did Voldemort make another Horcrux when he tried to kill me?"

"That is indeed a difficult question, which I have thought about for a long time. And I've got a theory I'd like you to consider. He obviously came to your house that day to kill you and by that get rid of the boy who would become his equal, like said in the part of the prophecy that he knew. By doing this he made you your equal, as we have discussed before. His soul was so instable by then, that when committing those acts of evil, the murder of your parents, the attempted killing of a child, his soul split again and unintentionally of course, he made you his seventh Horcrux, while he himself was hit by the curse that had rebounded. He could not die but yet he was as close to death as one can be. But we have already discussed that as well.

"So what do you think? ", Dumbledore asked Harry.

"I agree with you, your theory makes sense," Harry said, surprised that Dumbledore wanted to know his opinion.

"Yes, that's what I thought", Dumbledore said smiling contently. "So have you got further questions?"

"Yes, actually I do", Harry said, thinking of the connection between his and Voldemort's wands, the deathly hallows and finally _The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. _

Harry did not know for how long they talked, it seemed like both an endless long time and no time at all.

He finally knew the truth about everything. He looked at Dumbledore and felt a rush of relieve that all the doubts he had had about him had vanished and that Dumbledore had told him about his past and his mistakes.

Suddenly, a distant noise could be heard, which was getting constantly louder.

"Where exactly are we?", Harry asked, trying to recognize the sound.

"I was about to ask you the same question," Dumbledore answered, looking at Harry expectantly.

"King's Cross Station", Harry said, surprising himself. "We're at King's Cross Station."

"If you say so", Dumbledore said smiling. "Then I think this sound will be your train arriving, won't it? It's probably time for you to leave. I think someone might be waiting for you."

Harry looked into the brilliant blue eyes. "Will we see each other again?"

"Of course we will, if you want to. I can't wait to have another chat with you", Dumbledore answered brightly.

"But.. But isn't this all happening in my head?", Harry asked confused.

"Yes, it probably is. Does it matter though?", He answered twinkling.

"I guess it doesn't…", Harry said. "Well then, Good-bye professor!"

"See you soon Harry"

And so Harry boarded the train and leaned out of the window to wave at Dumbledore but he was already gone. Slightly confused Harry sat down and thought about what Dumbledore had told him.

But the thoughts were soon pushed aside by a much more important question which was burning on his mind. What was waiting for him at the train station? Would he finally see his parents again?

After some time the train was slowing down. Harry jumped to his feet and leaned out of the window once more. He saw the station coming closer and closer, excitement building up in the pit of his stomach

They have to be here somewhere He thought desperately, searching the station for a sign of his parents.

Finally he spotted a couple standing at the far end of the station, the woman's red hair glittering in the sunlight.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I've written this chapter a while ago and was not sure if I should post it because it does not really fit in with the rest of my story, but then I decided to put it here anyway because I sort of like it, hope you guys do as well ;)

* * *

It was a beautiful summer morning, the sun had just risen over the blue and cloudless sky. But the Weasley's garden was unnaturally still and there were no wild gnomes running around.

The Weasleys were standing in the garden and were gathered in a circle around the grave in which Fred's body was lying peacefully. They were all staring at it, lost in thought.

Then, after what seemed like an eternity, Arthur stepped up to the grave and cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him.

"Fred… My son... I can't believe this has happened and yet you are lying here in front of me. You were always laughing about everything and even in dangerous times you managed to make us smile quite often… Without you there will be a good deal less laughter in the world.

We will always love you… Rest in Peace, Fred!"

Tears were flowing down his cheeks as he conjured a bright yellow sunflower out of thin air and dropped it into the grave, where it landed softly on Fred's chest. Then he returned to Molly's side and took her hand.

She took a deep breath and whispered: " Fred… Oh Fred… I love you.. you know that, don't you? I love you…" And she too conjured a flower, a beautiful red rose, and put it into the grave. She burst into tears and Arthur squeezed her hand tightly.

Then Bill stepped forward, holding a big purple flower. With tears shining in his eyes he said: "This world was a better place before you left us… We'll miss you, bro"

and the flower fell into the tomb.

Charlie walked up to him and opened his mouth to say something but seemed lost for words so he just stood there staring at Fred sadly and watching his orange flower land soundlessly on his legs.

When they had both returned, Percy conjured a beautiful but still unnatural looking red flower which fell on top of the others and said: "I was such an idiot… I am so sorry for.. for everything. I hope that you can forgive me someday…" and with these words he turned away trying to fight back his tears but failing completely.

Then Ron stepped up to the grave, brushing away his tears and stared at Fred. His hand was shaking uncontrollably as he let go of a deep blue tulip and watched it join the others.

Ginny followed him, clutching a white rose and tears were streaming down her pale face.

"Fred… I won't ever forget you!", she sobbed loudly as she too dropped the rose into his grave.

She looked up to Ron who had put an arm around her and squeezed her tightly and together they left the grave and took their place in the circle, the Weasleys had formed.

Now everybody was looking at George, who had moved forward. He did not cry, not one single tear. His eyes were fixed on Fred's body, but they were expressionless and empty. He conjured a single black rose out of thin air but hesitated. Then he let go and it seemed to take an eternity to fall. When it finally landed softly on Fred's chest, Arthur raised his wand and a white coffin appeared, encasing Fred's body. Then he covered it with earth forming a smooth mound on which he placed a white tombstone. Words were engraved in it.

_Here lies Fred Weasley _

_A beloved Son, Brother and Friend _

_Rest In Peace_

Then each of them conjured the same flower they had laid into the grave and Molly tied them together and put the bunch of flowers in front of the tombstone. Her eyes filled with tears again and Arthur put an arm around her shoulder comfortingly and said: "Come on.. let's go inside and have some breakfast…"

He took a last sad look at the headstone and turned away, a pained expression on his face.

Then he left the garden with Molly. Bill, Charlie and Percy followed soon after, so that only Ginny, Ron and George were left, gathered around the grave.

"George?", Ginny said tentatively. He didn't react. "George... Come on.. Let's go inside."

For the first time this morning George spoke, but with a horrible indifferent voice, still staring absentmindedly at Fred's gravestone.

"You two go.. I can't… I need to be alone right now"

Ron sighed. "George come-"

"I said I wanted to be alone. Please go now.. 'cause, you know, I'm really not in the mood to jinx you, right now", He interrupted Ron.

"Come on, Ginny… let's go…" and Ron turned away and entered the house. But Ginny stayed behind and glanced at George, who finally looked at her. His eyes were no longer expressionless but filled with sadness and desperation as he fell to his knees, tears now streaming down his face

"Oh George", Ginny whispered and she sat down in the grass next to him and hugged him tightly, she herself was crying again, too.

George was staring at the white stone again, when he said: "But.. What will I do without him? We… we were one... without him I – I can't live…"

"George!", Ginny sobbed. "He wouldn't have wanted you to.. to break apart! He'd want you to be strong and.. and live your life for both of you! I need you George.. You can't leave.. Not you too.. Promise me you won't go!"

"I can't do that… But I'll try my best…"

And they sat there for hours, their eyes fixed on the tombstone, and as neither of them had the need to say something or to go inside, they were still there when the sun began to sink again. Finally Ginny whispered: "Let's go inside, we can't sit here forever.."

"You go.. I need to stay…", George answered and seeing the look on Ginny's face he quickly added: "Don't worry, Gin… I'll be fine."  
Ginny hugged him once more, stood up and went inside. But George stayed there for the rest of the evening and all night, just staring at Fred's grave. At the break of dawn he finally stood up, walked up to the grave, conjured another black rose and placed it next to the bunch of flowers.

He then pointed his wand at the white stone and carved something into it, so that it now said:

_Here lies Fred Weasley _

_A beloved Son, Brother, Friend and Twin _

_Rest In Peace_

He then turned away from the grave and entered the house, feeling that he had left a small part of his pain and desperation behind. For the first time since Fred's death his mind was free of the picture that had haunted him, the picture of Fred's dead body lying in the Great Hall. Instead he remembered times when Fred was alive and involuntarily a small smile spread across his face.


End file.
